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A character in Resurrection

Vladimir Simonson

A political prisoner with his own ideas about life, who falls in love with Maslova on the march.

What they want

He wants Maslova to be near him in exile.

The book

ResurrectionLeo Tolstoy, 1899

A prince sits on a jury and recognises the prisoner as the young servant he seduced and abandoned ten years before.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Simonson is a serious, odd young man among the political prisoners, who thinks everything out for himself. He loves Maslova plainly and without any past to atone for.

How Vladimir Simonson Is Portrayed

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • First seenIn Book III, Chapter I, he is among the prisoners on the march, in a rubber jacket and rubber overshoes.
  • The influenceIn Book III, Chapter IV, the narrator says Simonson influences Maslova because he loves her.
  • His offerIn Book III, Chapter XVII, he tells Nekhlyudov he wants to join his fate to Maslova's. Nekhlyudov feels freed from his duty, and also jealous.
  • Her answerIn Book III, Chapter XXV, Maslova calls him quite an exceptional man and chooses to follow him.

Vladimir Simonson quotes

Lines spoken by or about Vladimir Simonson, each verified verbatim against the text and located in the book.

What have I to consider? Where Valdemar Simonson goes, there I shall follow.
— Maslova, to Nekhlyudov · Leo Tolstoy, Resurrection (1899), Book III, Chapter XXV, translated by Louise Maude
Their ending, and the commentary — spoilers aheadHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Simonson and Maslova go into exile together at the end.

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